Door knocker assembly



Dec. 18, 1962 R. E. STEWART DOOR KNOCKER ASSEMBLY Filed Aug. 18, 1960 30 /7 FIG. ni-

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States The present invention relates to door knockers generally and in particular to an improved door knocker for installation on the door of a residence.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a door knocker which may be silenced or made inoperative when desired.

Another object is to provide a door knocker which is attractive in appearance, whether in the operative condition or in operative condition.

A further object is to provide a door knocker which may be made inoperative but which, when in the inoperative condition, does not readily reveal its inoperativeness.

A still further object of the present invention is to pro vide a door knocker unique in appearance, novel in use, one which may afford interest and amusement and therefore of commercial advantage, one which may be manufactured at reasonable cost and in quantity, and one which is completely practical for the purpose intended.

These objects Will be fully understood and appreciated when considered in the light of the following description and claims, and with the annexed drawing in mind, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the invention,

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of the device shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view on line 33 of FIGURE 2, showing the knocker in operative position,

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view on line 4-4 of FIG- URE 2, and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary view in section on line 44 of FIG. 3, showing the knocker in inoperative position.

Referring in detail to the drawing, in which like numerals refer to like parts in the several views, the reference numeral designates the door knocker assembly generally, and the numeral 12 the outer face of the door of a residence, or the like.

The assembly 10 includes a vertically disposed backing member or plate 14 having front and back faces 11 and 13, respectively and disposed with the back face 13 abutting the door face 12 and with the front face facing outwardly.

A knocker element 16, substantially U-shaped in form, has its legs 18 and 20 pivotally connected to trunnions 22 and 24 which project outwardly of the front face of the plate 14 and are disposed in horizontal alignment and laterally spaced from each other. The legs 18 and 20 are connected together by a bar 21. The bight of the element 16 is enlarged to form a hammer 26.

The plate 14 is provided with an aperture 28 of a size larger than the diameter of the head of the hammer 26 and the head of the hammer 26 is swingable into and out of the aperture 28 to strike the door face 10.

The back face 13 is provided with a recess and the side walls 17 and 19 of the recess 15 are provided with grooves 30 and 32 forming a slideway. A slide 3,068,835 Patented Dec.'18, 1962 5 The upper end portion of the element 34 is formed to a flat sheet-like part 38 having on its front face indicia 39 thereon in the form of the word WELCOME. A lip 40 projects outwardly from the upper end edge of the part 38 and forms a hand grip means by which the Slide element 34 may be caused to execute its sliding movement.

In use, suitable fastening means such as wood screws 42, 43, 45 and 47 are employed to secure the assembly 10 to the door face 12. A detent mechanism 44 (FIG. 2) having a ball 49 and a spring 51 releasably holds the slide element 34 in either the normal or up position in which the part 38 and word WELCOME is displayed, or in the down position in which the part 38 is wholly concealed behind the plate 14.

Upon engagement of the lip 40 by the finger, a person may easily shift the element 34 downwardly which causes the pad 36 to move from the position exteriorly of the aperture 28 to a position in registry with the aperture 28 and blocking the entrance of the head of the hammer 26. Simultaneously, for obvious reasons, the word WEL- COME disappears.

Now, when the knocker element 16 is raised and released, the head of the hammer 26 will strike the pad 36 producing little or no noise.

As will be apparent from the foregoing, the knocker assembly 10 may be easily and with facility returned to the operation condition by shifting the slide element 34 upwardly to the first position.

A feature of the invention is that the device serves also to inform intimate friends of the occupants of the house when the occupants do not wish to be disturbed, presuming that the device has been shown and demonstrated to such friends.

While only a single embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described it is to be understood that other embodiments are contemplated and that many changes maybe made in the invention without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

In a door knocker assembly including a backing plate having a front face and a back face, and a knocker element disposed adjacent the front face of said plate and having one end connected to said plate for swinging movement of said element toward and away from said plate, a hammer on the other end of said knocker element, a head on said hammer, said plate being provided with an aperture into which said hammer head is received responsive to execution of swinging movement of said knocker element, said hammer head being adapted to strike the adjacent surface of a door when said plate is mounted on said door with the back face thereof abutting said door, the back face of said plate being provided with a recess opening outwardly of the upper end of said plate, the side walls of said recess being provided with grooves forming a slideway, a vertically disposed slide element mounted on said slideway, for upward and downward movement, a resilient pad carried by the lower end portion of said slide element and moveable with said slide element to a position in registry with said aperture upon execution of downward movement of said slide element and to a position out of registry with said aperture responsive to execution of upward movement of said slide element, said pad when in the downward movement position blocking the complete entry of said hammer head into said aperture, the portion of said slide element adjacent the upper end being positioned above said upper end of said plate when said slide element is in the upward movement position, and being 10 2 523 153 positioned below said upper end of said plate when said slide element is in the downward movement position and a lip on the upper end of said slide element adapted to be grasped by the fingers of a hand of the user.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Goldman et al. May 24, 1870 Doggett Feb. 22, 1927 Starp Sept. 19, 1950 

